The Short Answer
For an insured mortgage, meaning less than 20% down, CMHC documentation puts the floor at 600, with 680 as the practical working threshold that unlocks the most generous debt service ratios. Canadian scores run 300 to 900. Equifax Canada calls 660 to 724 good, 725 to 759 very good and 760 and above excellent. There is no published minimum for uninsured mortgages, because that is lender policy rather than regulation. Two corrections worth having: checking your own score does not lower it, and the familiar "35% payment history, 30% utilization" breakdown is American, not Canadian. Local note: Markham ranks third highest among Canada's twenty most populous cities on one large lender dataset, at an average of 714.
Want this applied to your own property? Call the Kaizen Real Estate Team at (647) 370-8885.
The Thresholds That Actually Matter
Situation | Score |
|---|---|
Insured mortgage, minimum | 600 for at least one borrower or guarantor |
Insured mortgage, to access the best debt service ratios | 680 |
Uninsured mortgage at a major lender | No published figure. Lender policy. |
B lenders | Rates roughly 1.25% to 2% higher, plus about a 1% lender fee, typically on 1 to 3 year terms |
Private lenders | 7% to 8% on first mortgages, 10% to 13% on seconds, plus fees |
The 680 threshold is the one people miss. Below it, lenders generally hold a file to roughly 35% gross debt service and 42% total debt service rather than 39% and 44%. On a Markham purchase that difference is worth tens of thousands of dollars of borrowing capacity.
Michael John Lau, a REALTOR® with the Kaizen Real Estate Team, one of the most active real estate teams in Markham and York Region, raises this early with buyers because it is the one qualifying factor that takes months to change. Rates move weekly. A credit score does not.
One caution on sourcing, offered honestly: the 600 and 680 figures come from CMHC documentation that is otherwise out of date in places, and CMHC's current live consumer page states no minimum score at all. Treat them as the working thresholds lenders use rather than as a published rule, and confirm with a mortgage professional.
Questions About Your Situation?
Every Markham property and every timeline is different. Call the Kaizen Real Estate Team at (647) 370-8885 and speak to a REALTOR® who works this market daily.
What the Ranges Mean
Band | Equifax Canada description |
|---|---|
760 and above | Excellent |
725 to 759 | Very good |
660 to 724 | Good |
Below 660 | May be less likely to qualify for better loan terms |
Below 560 | Generally described as poor |
These bands are Equifax's. TransUnion Canada publishes no band labels at all, stating only that each lender decides what it considers a good or poor credit risk. So a score described as "good" by one source may sit differently with a given lender.
Two Things Repeated Everywhere That Are Wrong
1. The percentage breakdown you have seen is American
The familiar "35% payment history, 30% utilization, 15% length of history, 10% credit mix, 10% inquiries" split is the US FICO model. Neither Equifax Canada nor TransUnion Canada publishes percentage weightings.
What they do publish are the factors. Equifax Canada names payment history, amount of debt and length of credit history, and states expressly that different models treat those elements differently. TransUnion Canada names six factors, again without weightings: payment history, account balances, credit utilization, length of credit history, credit mix and recent activity.
The direction of the advice is the same either way. The precise percentages are not Canadian and should not be repeated as if they were.
2. Checking your own score does not lower it
Equifax Canada is explicit. Checking your own credit is a soft inquiry, and soft inquiries "do not impact your credit scores." Obtaining your own reports "will not affect your credit scores."
A hard inquiry is different: it occurs when a lender reviews your file as part of an application, and it usually does affect your score.
The useful corollary for anyone about to buy: multiple inquiries for the same purpose within a short window are generally counted as one. Equifax puts the window at 14 to 45 days depending on the scoring model. Shopping several lenders in a fortnight is not penalised as several hits.
Where to Check Yours Free
Per the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada:
- Equifax provides a free credit score in every province and territory.
- TransUnion provides a free score only in Ontario and Quebec, because of provincial legislation. Markham buyers qualify.
- Available by online account, by mail with two pieces of photo identification, or by phone.
- Some federally regulated financial institutions also provide free scores through their banking apps.
One honest note: multiple scoring models exist and produce different numbers, so a score from a free consumer app and a score a lender pulls may not match. How large that gap typically is has not been published by any authoritative Canadian source, and anyone quoting a specific spread is guessing.
Neeraj Moolchandani on the Only Factor You Cannot Fix Quickly
Neeraj Moolchandani, REALTOR® at Kaizen Real Estate, tells buyers to check their credit before they look at a single home. Rates move weekly. A credit score does not.
Paying down a balance can move a score within a reporting cycle, but a missed payment stays up to six years and cannot be rushed at all. Neeraj would rather find that in month one than during a conditional period, when there is nothing left to do about it.
The Markham Number
On a dataset of more than four million members of one Canadian credit monitoring service, the average Canadian credit score is 679, up from 667 in 2021. Among Canada's twenty most populous cities, Markham ranks third at 714, behind Quebec City at 723 and Montreal at 716, and ahead of Vancouver and Laval at 704.
That sample is self-selected, since it reflects people who signed up to monitor their credit, and it will skew higher than the true population. It is still the only city-level Canadian comparison available, and Markham's position in it is genuinely strong.
How to Improve a Score Before Applying
Official Canadian guidance, from the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada:
- Always pay on time. Make at least the minimum payment if you cannot pay in full.
- Use less than 30% of your total credit limit.
- Keep accounts open and active. A long history helps, so closing an old card can hurt.
- Only apply for credit when you need it, and avoid several applications close together.
- Maintain a mix of credit types.
How long things take
No Canadian bureau publishes a "your score will change in X days" figure, so anyone quoting one is inventing it. What is published:
- Credit report information updates monthly, so a utilization improvement typically surfaces within one reporting cycle.
- Late or unpaid accounts and collections stay up to 6 years.
- Bankruptcy generally stays 6 years after discharge, and TransUnion keeps it 7 years in Ontario.
- A consumer proposal stays 3 years after the included debts are paid, or 6 years after signing, whichever comes first.
- Credit inquiries stay 3 years with Equifax and 6 years with TransUnion. Equifax notes hard inquiries may remain up to 36 months.
The practical implication for a Markham buyer: paying down a card can move a score within a month or two. Repairing a missed payment cannot be rushed at all.
Checking Your File Before You Look?
Aim for 680, not 600. The floor gets you a mortgage; the threshold gets you the ratios. The Kaizen Real Estate Team will explain the difference.
What Michael Tells Buyers
- Check your score before you look at homes, not after. It costs nothing and it does not hurt the score.
- Aim for 680, not 600. The floor gets you a mortgage. The threshold gets you the ratios.
- Pay down balances rather than closing cards. Utilization responds within a reporting cycle; closing a card shortens your history and can raise utilization on what remains.
- Get a pre-approval before touring. It converts all of this from theory into a number.
- Do all your rate shopping inside a two-week window so the inquiries count as one.
- If the score needs work, say so early. A three-month delay to fix a file is cheaper than a B lender rate for three years.
The related pieces: how much you need to earn, what the down payment actually is, and how the buying process runs step by step.
Next Steps
- First-time buyer programmes — what is available and who qualifies.
- Run the mortgage calculator — see what your numbers support.
- See how buyer representation works — from pre-approval to keys.